Audit of Rafale offset deal drops by CAG of India

Eight months after the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) presented its performance report on defence offset agreements to the administration, a top source in the government examiner has uncovered that the report has no notice of any counterbalance bargains identified with Rafale airplane bought from French organization Dassault Aviation. The legislature is yet to table the report before Parliament.

  The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has denied any data identified with the Rafale offset arrangements to the auditor. As indicated by individuals associated with the audit, the MoD has educated the government auditor that Dassault Aviation, the French maker of Rafale, has said that it will share any info of its offset ally simply following three years of the agreement.

  India got the main arrangement of five Rafale fighters a month ago from France. In the 36 airplanes deal, agreed for Rs 59,000 crore, Dassault Aviation has consented to give all planes in a fly-away condition between 36 to 67 months from the date of sign of the Inter-legislative contract in 2016. It has developed that the CAG has explored just 12 offset contracts in its performance report submitted to the Indian govt in December 2019.

   In the approach the 2019 General Elections, the Rafale had caused a great deal of debate with the primary resistance, Congress, requesting a CBI request on the standing of the Dassault Aviation selecting Reliance defence of Anil Ambani bunch as its ally for the contract. Notwithstanding, the Indian govt had not offered any expression on who had took the offset deal, saying it was the sole attentiveness of the French maker.

  As indicated by sources, the CAG had at first gotten 32 contracts, identified with IAF, Navy, and Army, including the Rafale deal, nearly a year ago for an assessment relating to the period 2012-13 to 2017-18. It has now developed that the CAG later shortened its review plan to 12 contracts and dropped the much-anticipated Rafale deal after MoD educated that it has no related data.

  According to the show, not long after a CAG report is submitted to the govt, it is postponed in the most readily accessible meeting of Parliament and promptly refer to the Public Accounts Committee, drove by the Opposition chief, for its examination.